Ivanova was limping along the corridor of Blue Sector, heading out of the command offices to head to the next meeting to figure out what to do about this Drazi thing. She never liked crutches, they never seemed to be built for a proper height. It was as if the manufacturers assumed that the world was populated by giants or something.
In any case they were very awkward to move around in.
"We're going to have to be a bit careful," a voice said in hall ahead of her. "Until this drazi mess is over."
"Does that mean no more arcade?" a girl's voice asked nervously. "I promise not to get angry next time there's a riot. I'll just stay out of the way and not hurt anybody."
Susan arched an eyebrow as she came around a corner and saw Rally Vincent and one of her daughters walking through the halls. She'd heard something about a drazi complaining about assault by a human. She'd even seen the drazi in question.
"Hold it right there," she said, calling the two to a stop as she hobbled over to them.
Rally cautiously turned around to face the sound of Susan's voice and the small Russian woman noted the way a hand drifted instinctively toward where Rally assumed there'd be a weapon. A smirk came over her face.
The girl with the long hair and the sundress, Shanti, apparently, also turned around and that's where she lost her control and burst out laughing loudly. She continued laughing until she rocked painfully on her broken leg and quieted down.
"Oh God, that hurt," she said, still laughing. "Man, I needed that. Well, do me a favor and move out of the way. Taking a lot of room here today, clear aside, thank you."
And with that, she pushed her way through the two confused Vincents and shuffled her way down the hallway, stopping an intersection and then turning laboriously to the right.
"Rally, what was that?" Shanti asked.
"A scary, random woman," Rally said, shaking her head. "Let's go get your sister."
Further down the hallway, Susan stopped as her link buzzed and irritably lifted her hand up to tap it.
"What is it?" she asked.
"There's news from the Drazi homeworld," the voice on the other end said.
"Oh please tell me this nightmare is over," she said hopefully.
"Sorry, Commander," the other man said. "It's getting worse, the ante's been upped. They're starting to kill each other over there now."
"Damn it," Ivanova snapped. "Have the Drazi here heard about this yet? Get a team to the council room right away, full gear."
By the time she reached the council room, some minutes later, limping as fast as she could, it was clear that the security team had gotten there late.
The room was full of dead Drazi wearing purple sashes.
Elric watched as Captain Sheridan walked away after their parting and smiled in a bittersweet manner. Sheridan was a good man with a powerful heart. The folds of destiny wrapped around him with all that entailed, both the great and the tragic.
Which left him with only one more task to attend to before they moved on past this station out into the unknown. And really, that task was only one of personal curiosity and a sense of responsibility.
The girl in question wasn't difficult to find, all it took was a simple holodemon to quietly infest the security feeds and report her presence back to him. And then it was just a matter of waiting for her to be present with her guardian.
It wasn't long before he was standing outside a door in Brown Sector and pressing the button to alert the people inside. When it opened, he found himself facing a woman in her thirties and holding herself rather cautiously.
"What's your question?" the woman asked.
"Ah, now there's a question I haven't heard before," Elric said. "Excuse me, Miss Vincent, I believe one of your daughters had a brief interaction with some of my people that I think needs to be discussed."
The woman looked back over her shoulder.
"Little Girl," she asked. "Do maybe know what he's talking about?"
It was a prudent thing to do, to use a nickname that would be difficult to track rather than a proper name.
The girl in question, slender build, short dark hair and dusky skin as had been indicated by the communications from his peers, walked into view.
"You're with those technomage people," she said curiously. "You didn't answer my question."
"Well," Elric said. "You asked a dangerous question in broad public. I would have been disappointed if any of my people continued that conversation."
"I think you should come in," Rally said grimly as she looked toward her daughter.
"I think so as well," Elric said with a calm smile as the woman stepped aside and let him in.
She moved like a masterful warrior and Elric did not fail to notice that as he swished into the room and the door closed behind him. Most people in the woman's situation would have started taking a posture of confidence and strength at closing a stranger in. This one remained cautious as she turned to face him, perhaps sensing that he did not feel ill at ease himself.
There was another girl in the rooms, one who looked very similar to the other, but with longer hair and almost brimming with heat even when she was at rest.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Another important question," the technomage said casually. "But perhaps another one is best suited to this situation. Why am I here? And the answer is to suggest a warning."
He looked over toward Vivian.
"Uh huh," the woman said, frowning. "What was the question you asked, Little Girl?"
"I asked about Shadows," Vivian said.
"That doesn't sound like something general," the mother said, stepping forward.
"I probably shouldn't say anything, but it is apparent that your daughter has already...seen more than is good for her to know," Elric said.
"She has a good imagination," Rally said.
"Indeed," Elric said. "But what she asked my people is not something she should be asking out loud. Already she has been heard by someone with dark alliances. This individual doesn't yet know enough to understand the significance of what he knows, but if he mentions it off hand to the wrong people then you will be having other visitors."
"What kind of visitors," Rally asked.
"I can't say for sure but the agents will be pleasant, they'll come in much less dramatic attire than I'm wearing," Elric noted, gesturing to his robes. "They'll smile and they'll ask you that second important question you asked me once I came into your home."
"They'll ask what I want?" Rally repeated.
"And if they like your answer, they'll try to give it to you," Elric noted.
"For a price," the bounty hunter reasoned.
"The people in question prefer the situations to make their own price," the technomage said. "Regardless, now is not the time to be discussing them. Soon, you'll be discussing little else, and when that comes they will have other things to concern themselves. Right now they are mostly concerned that people should not be talking about them at all."
"Forgive me if that sounds a bit like a wild conspiracy theory," Rally said, and she looked toward her short-haired daughter.
"I...saw something, R..." the girl stopped short of naming her mother and the technomage smiled again. "I saw something."
"You should probably be one who's a bit familiar with conspiracy, Ms Vincent," Elric said. "My people and I are leaving this place, we won't be here for the legends to come. That's something for the people here to handle. But until that time, I do wish to warn again."
He turned to look at Vivian again, face serious and grave.
"Do not speak of these things you see on a whim," he said. "I can tell that secrets somehow fall in your hands like leaves from a tree. It is a wonderful gift, but the times are dangerous for those with wonderful gifts."
"I'm not tel..." the girl started to say when both Rally and Elric gestured for her to stop.
"I think your mother has taught you better than that," Elric said. "I'll go now, I hope you've taken my warning to heart, but I rather guess some mistake will be made anyway. Be hopeful. Continue dreaming and share those those dreams with others if you can. A good heart is truly the most wonderful gift you can have."
He looked between all three of the Vincents and smiled.
"And there are many good hearts here in this station," he continued. "But, there are dark ones as well, so dream and share, but be careful and discrete about it."
"What no comment about meddling with wizards?" Vivian asked.
"It seems pointless to give such advice to people who might very well be counted among that group," Elric said finally as he stood up and walked toward the door.
"Ms Vincent and daughters," he said. "I hope you are blessed in the times to come."
"Yeah," Rally said narrowly. "Thanks for the heads up."
"Oh, in answer to your first request," Elric said as the door opened. "My favorite question has always been 'where are you going?'"
Then technomage then walked out of the room and down the hallway.
"Why do we get all the weird people?" Shanti asked.
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(Posted Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:50)
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